Happy New Year

Hello and Happy New Year! I started the New Year feeling a bit wiped, but full of resolutions of renewal, improvement and revitalised creativity. As usual I have many, multiple and numerous resolutions. Some I may stick with, some may just be an interesting way to start the year that tails off, but what's wrong with that hey?

Mr Rex

My 4 (and a half, very important!) year old son Dylan LOVES dinosaurs at the moment. We went to our local car boot sale last weekend, and I gave him £2 to spend on whatever he likes. By a stroke of luck there was a sweet boy, who, at around age 13 (at a guess), was selling all his old dinosaur loot. This included lots of plastic dinosaurs, Walking with Dinosaurs DVD and book, two other dinosaur encyclopedias, and various other dinosaur themed bits and bobs. Dylan already has quite a large collection of plastic dinosaurs, mostly collected from other car boot sales, but, well, a boy can never have too many plastic dinosaurs (as any fule kno)!
So in the end he bought 5 plastic dinosaurs - 4 for 50p each, with an extra one thrown in, with kindness. As we walked back home, with his arms full of his new dino pals, he explained to me in his charming four-and-a-half-year-old way, the reasons behind his purchasing: 'Because I love toy dinosaurs, and a dinosaur video (for some reason he's very retro in calling DVDs videos) might be too grown up for me, and I might find it scary'.  bless 'im! Looking out for himself, in case he get's scared!

So I felt inspired to have a go at creating a T-Rex character. As you can see, I was trying out different emotions and expressions. You might also spot I had a bit of difficulty with the legs. More practice I think. These were done in pen and ink. I might pick one or two out and colour them up. If anyone wants to suggest their favourite, I'd love to hear what they are, and then perhaps I could colour them up...

 

Tinkered lion...raaaarrrrr!!!

Ok, so I tinkered with the line. What do you think? Better?

The fox and the lion...

The process:

Line drawn with charcoal pencil on paper

Photo taken with phone

Emailed to iPad

Photo lightened, brightened, contrast adjusted in PS Express App on the iPad

Adjusted photo taken into Brushes App and then painted up by yours truly.

Oh the lengths us artists go to!

Doodle animals...

Some doodle/tryouts in Sketchbook Pro on the iPad. Every one I do improves (I believe anyway) - these are posted in the order I did them. Perhaps I should go back to the first lion, and tinker with his line. I like the uneven line in the last one. Watch this space - I may tinker and repost him...

As Cilla would say: it's ta-ra for now...ta ra!!

Things that take my fancy

This is a random post with a collection of photos of things that have taken my fancy over the last few months... It's quite a motley crew of photos, but they are all things that have caught my eye and made me pause. It seems a shame to just pass things by sometimes, so I thought perhaps a blog is the best place to share them. To preserve them for me and to share them with others too.

 There is a road I walk down on my way into work, and somebody has obviously done a bit of 'guerilla gardening. At the foot of each tree, somebody has planted colourful flowers. It's such a nice idea, to pretty up the feet of city trees, that are often so ugly!

Here's another...

Somebody had put up this 'lost' photo in my street (in West London). It brought a smile to my face. I wonder if they were ever reunited with their owner...

My brother and I sat in a parkby the river the other day, while our mum was having an operation. We sat there for hours chatting, and sometimes lying down and looking up at the sky. This is one of the clouds we noticed, and fancied it looked like Great Britain. What do you think?

I caught the tube with my mum and son Dylan the other day and they started putting their feet together across the aisle. I fancied it as a photo and snapped it. There's something nice about the contrast of their feet together...

For some reason this poster catches my eye every time I walk past. I mainly like the font, but I think the whole feel of the posters are really interesting.

That's it!
'Til next time...

Summer Fair poster

Hello! Long time no blog! I know I said last time I was going to blog more, and didn't, so this time I shall make no such promises.... I have been very busy of late - it is very hard keeping up a full time job, being a mum, and managing to find the time to be creative too. But sometimes the best way to get myself do something creative is if it's something I volunteer to do to help somebody out, and then I have to be forcibly creative - surprisingly effective! Which is exactly what I did a few weeks ago, when I offered to do the poster for this years summer fair for Wendell Park School, where my son is at nursery. The brief was a circus theme, and they gave me all the wording, then it was up to me.

Here is my effort... It's always strange doing personal design, and takes me a while to get into the swing of it - it's also hard doing something that doesn't sit around for ages on your job list, so you can tweak, re-design, consult your colleagues and eventually come up with something you are vaguely happy with - but there you go, I hope it's OK. It was quite fun to do. And for those of you living in West London - come along and join us! I will be manning the Face Painting stall with a few other parents.

Toodle pip!
Ella